You Me At Six
by EJML-Isotope
Summary: Okay, so I've recently found out that my sense of direction in guys isn't always the best, and so in order to avoid horrific future situations, I vowed to stop dating. For good. Then this guy came along and Iz said I should go for it. I went for it. I almost died. Really, no joke. Then another came along. I went for it. It wasn't quite so bad. The perks of love. THREESHOT
1. Must be love

**Story: You Me At Six**

**Chapter 1: Must be love**

**Normal POV**

Clary Fray swung open the door leading to her best friend's en suite bathroom, looking like a delicate refreshed fairy with a white turban towel wrapped round her wet hair, and dressed in nothing but her black lacy underwear.

The fresh delightful scent of apples drifted through the open bathroom door and into the bright orange bedroom, belonging to Isabelle Lightwood.

Clary bent and scooped up her black and white make-up bag from the floor that was nestled in amongst a whole heap of Isabelle's junk, and then frowned at the unusual light weight of it. In fact, it felt _too_ light…almost empty.

Carefully, using only the tips of her slender fingers, she unzipped the bag and upturned it so that anything in it would fall out onto Izzy's messy unmade bed.

But nothing did.

Narrowing her emerald eyes in thought, she flung the empty bag onto the floor and placed her hands on her hips, where her shiny black nail polish looked stark against the pale skin of her curves, as she tried to think of a logical solution on how her make-up, which is an inanimate object(s), could go walk about.

With a frustrated growl of realisation, she clenched her tiny hands into fists and drew two words out from between her teeth.

She made the words sound like a curse.

"_Jace Lightwood_."

She didn't expect a reply, so when a smooth silky voice completed with a smirk that she just _knew_ was going to be there, she jumped slightly.

"Yes?"

She spun round, ready to rip into him, but the sight of his smirk and his exposed biceps made her flounder and snap her mouth shut causing her to only scowl in blatant loathing, which wasn't nearly as impressive as the snide retort she had bubbling on her tongue moments ago.

"Did you say something Fray?" he asked in a mildly concerned voice. The kind of voice that drove Clary up the wall, simply because he always knew what he had done yet he was so stubbornly determined to play the innocent.

Oh, and another thing, he knew it irritated her too.

"You ass. Give me it back right now!" she snapped, keeping her eyes away from his biceps, and sorely focussed on his eyes, which were a golden honey colour.

_Not_ quite as distracting as his muscles…or mouth for that matter.

He raised his eyebrows innocently at her. "What?"

She rolled her eyes at him, determined not to by into his whole I'm-completely-innocent-why-are-you-blaming-me act. "You know what. My make-up."

When he simply cocked his head to the side, causing his soft curly hair to flop over his forehead slightly she elaborated. "Give. Me. My. Make-up. Back. Now." She spoke with deliberate slowness and precision, as if she were talking to a five year old.

He blinked. "I didn't take it."

When Clary snorted and rolled her shining emerald eyes at him, he quickly held his hands up in surrender and repeated with more force. "I didn't take it."

Clary moved her hands to her hips and puffed her chest, trying to make herself appear intimidating. "Of course you didn't..." She sighed and glared fiercely at the arrogant guy in front of her.

But Jace was a little preoccupied staring at Clary's chest. At the way it moved outwards as she puffed it to appear powerful.

Get a grip Jace. It's Clary, for crying out loud. You should not be fantasising-especially naughty fantasies-about Clarissa Fray. It was wrong. Jace told himself mentally.

However, he continued to stare transfixed at Clary's small pink lips as she said something that he wasn't paying attention to.

He was willing to bet a lot of money on the suspicion that Clary was a very good kisser…

Snap out of it dude. She is your best friend's little sister's best friend. A relationship between the pair of us would just be wrong.

"…And I'm a chicken." Clary finished exasperatedly.

That caught Jace's attention. He gawked at her for a moment and then regained his arrogant sarcastic demeanour and said, "Are you sure about that? I mean you do walk a bit like a chicken." He looked her up and down as if analysing her while Clary choked in indignation. "Yep." He nodded as if making a decision. "You definitely have that whole head-bob-and-waggle-thing that a chicken tends to do. Tell me, are you blood related?"

If Clary got any more indignant then she was going to be in orbit. She sucked in a breath and retorted, "Yes, the chicken is my second cousin on my dad's side!"

Jace nodded in understanding, his face composed in careful thoughtfulness while his golden eyes winked wickedly at her. "That must be the resemblance."

Almost growling in aggravation, she folded her arms over her chest and asked, "What about you? Is the peacock a distant family member of yours?"

Jace coughed to cover a laugh, but decided to play along. "Of course. A great, great aunty I think."

It was Clary's turn to nod in understanding now. "That explains things a lot."

"Does it?" Jace enquired, his tone politely conversational while his eyes where staring at her with a wicked amusement.

The truth was he was actually curious as to why she decided to use the peacock to describe him.

She shrugged. "Obviously; all that arrogance and preening and superiority had to come from somewhere. Your relation to the peacock sorts all that out though."

Okay, that was not what Jace had been expecting.

He was thinking more along the lines of his fantastic good looks being related to the peacock's fabulous tale or something equally admiring and fantastic.

Unfortunately for him, his shock was betrayed on his face as Clary deliberately dropped her hands behind her back, pointing her toe in a girly innocent manner, while she smiled sweetly at him.

God, that look totally worked for her, the whole I'm-an-innocent-sweet-girl-but-not-really-I'm-actually-the-devil thing…and it totally turned him on.

In the pregnant pause that followed, the two locked gazes and found it hard to look away.

Oh my God, Clary thought breathlessly, are Jace and me actually having a moment?

And then the bitter actualisation voice that Clary held at the back of her head waded forward to ruin the 'moment'. Don't be daft Clary, its Jace-as in evil, sarcastic, gorgeous, cunning, arrogant Jace! Or more formally know as Satan. Nothing is going on between you.

With a regretful sigh, Clary pinned Jace with an annoyed look and restated his original offence –Stealing her make-up.

"Jeez Fray, are you deaf as well as dumb? I didn't take it. Don't you think I have better things to be doing than hiding your make-up from you?" Jace said, hooking his thumbs into the belt loops of his jeans and leaning in the doorway.

Clary glared. "Well Jace, since you are five years old, this is exactly the kind of childishness I would expect from you."

Jace smirked. "Nah, this is amateur work. If I decided to play a prank on you it would be much better." And with that he turned and started walking down the landing, leading to his bedroom, but before he rounded the corner, he paused and called over his shoulder, "By the way Fray, nice underwear you have there."

Clary blushed ten shades of red before letting out a little shriek. Running her hands over the bed behind her, she seized a hairbrush and threw it at Jace.

Already anticipating the move, Jace ducked smoothly behind the wall, causing the hairbrush to go flying straight past him towards the stairs…that Alec was rounding.

He fell to the floor just in time to avoid being smacked in the head with the brush. The brush hit the wall with a loud thud before clattering to the wooden staircase.

There was a moment of astonished silence, broken by Jace's laughter and Clary's gasp.

Alec rose slowly to his feet. He alternated his gaze between the slightly shameful yet annoyed looking Clary and the grinning proud looking Jace until he finally sighed and turned calmly towards the fuming redhead.

"Uh, Clary, when some poor sod invented the hairbrush I'm pretty sure he didn't mean for it to be used as a lethal weapon."

Jace peeked round the corner of the wall, and shot a smirk at Clary, who growled and stomped her foot.

"Needs must Alec, needs must." Clary retorted, glaring furiously at Jace.

Alec's eyes travelled unwillingly up and down her body, but Clary was too busy having a glaring contest with Jace to notice.

With pink tinted cheeks, Alec lowered his gaze modestly and cleared his throat. "And, uh, Clary, why are you in your underwear yelling and hurling hairbrushes at Jace?"

Clary choked in horror and tore her eyes away from Jace. "Oh my God!" she groaned, grabbing clumsily at the blanket draped at the bottom of Izzy's bed. She wrapped it round her just in time to save herself more humiliation.

Isabelle was trotting up the stairs, talking excitedly into her cell phone. She only stopped talking when she collided in to Alec, with enough force to send him staggering forwards.

"What the hell Alec?" the beautiful brunette asked, frowning as she snapped her cell phone shut. "And why are you standing there smirking like you've just done something that you shouldn't have?" she snapped this question at Jace, who grinned mysteriously at her. "And why the hell are you standing there wrapped in a blanket when you have a date to be preparing for?" she strode down the landing and grasped Clary by her upper arm, pulling her towards the vanity table.

"Seriously people!" Izzy raised her voice so the guys can hear her down the landing. "I'm gone for like ten minutes and everything goes to pot!" she gave Clary a little shake. "You were meant to be taking a shower. How did you end up wrapped in a blanket looking very embarrassed and annoyed?"

"I did take a shower but only to come out and find that he took my make-up." Clary whimpered, collapsing on to the stool in front of the mirror.

Isabelle frowned down at her best friend. "Who?"

"Who do you think?" Clary snapped, waving towards the doorway, where Alec and Jace had gathered.

The brunette turned and studied the two guys, who both had equal looks of confusion on their faces.

"She's been going on about me nicking her make-up for the past ten minutes." Jace stated, shrugging dismissively. "Why would I want to take her make-up anyway? Its not like I would have any use for it. I'm attractive enough without it. And you don't have to worry about Alec needing it since his boyfriend has enough make-up and glitter for the both of them and the rest of the country_"

Isabelle surprised everyone by bursting in to laughter. "Clary, Jace didn't take your make-up, I did."

"Why?" the surprised red head gasped, twisting to look up at Izzy.

"Because," the brunette tossed her hair over her shoulder before continuing as if it should be obvious, "I'm going to be doing your make-up. And hair." She added, as she pulled the damp turban from Clary's head and sighed at the tangled mess.

"I think I can do it all by myself Iz_" Clary tried to wheedle her way out of it.

"No. There would be no point whatsoever of you coming over here to get ready if I'm not helping you. Suck it up honey." Isabelle smirked triumphantly down at Clary, who looked like a deer in the headlights.

"Have fun on your date." Jace growled, before stalking out of the room.

Silence.

And a shocked, awkward silence at that.

"What the hell is that all about?" Clary asked absently, using the mirror to spy the now empty doorway behind her.

Izzy didn't reply to the question, simply humming a short tune before singing, "Must be love, love, love!"

Clary eyed her through narrowed eyes, before letting it drop and relaxing ever so slightly so Izzy could do her thing.


	2. The disaster

_Implications of rape and some, I dunno, graphic violence._ Normal POV

"Ta da!" Izzy squealed as she yanked on Clary's arm to twist her back around to face the mirror. "Look!"

Clary carefully opened her eyes to look into the mirror and gasped. "Wow Iz…I look…I look…"

"Amazing, I know." Izzy grinned. "Now, stand up and throw on those skinny jeans and top."

Clary stumbled over to the bed in a small daze. She was absolutely flabbergasted over how she looked.

She had grey eyeliner on her bottom eye line and black on the top. A faint shimmer of blush coloured her cheeks and a pink lip-gloss on her lips. Grey eye shadow dusted her eyelids and her hair was curled elegantly in large ringlets that looked heavy, yet bouncy and light at the same time.

Clary fumbled blindly as she pulled the clothes on, her mind on other things…things like her face and hair and ridiculous high shoes…

Oh, and the date of course.

With Sebastian Verlac.

Isabelle yanked Clary out of her thoughts by saying with approval, "I knew those jeans would suit you."

Clary glanced down at herself. She was wearing tight dark grey skinny jeans that showed off her legs and made them look longer than what they were. The red low scoop top hugged her hips and breasts, emphasizing all the good assets of her small body.

A black cardigan was hanging neatly on her shoulders and the black made her fiery hair stand out.

It was the perfect contrast.

A simple gold heart necklace hung loosely around her small fragile neck and her nails were a pretty vibrant red, professionally painted by Isabelle.

All that was left to do was add the shoes.

The very high-heeled shoes that Clary was certain were just there for her to break her neck on.

"Are you _sure_ the shoes are a good idea?" Clary asked dubiously, as she bent down to lace the black boots up her shins.

"Do not question me." Izzy replied haughtily. "Well, you're ready to go."

Clary gulped. "I changed my mind. I don't want to go. I'll call him and say I'm sick_"

"You will not." Izzy said sternly. "You are going to have fun. Now move. Get down stairs and keep watch for your date." Izzy tossed her dark shiny hair over her shoulder and pointed violently towards the door.

Clary moved grudgingly towards the door, careful to lift her feet up high so that she didn't catch the heel on Izzy's cluttered carpet.

"Wait!" Izzy demanded suddenly, causing Clary to twirl quickly, hopefully, towards her friend. "Perfume." She explained, holding up a delicate intricate blue bottle half full of liquid.

"Damn." Clary sighed, before gagging on a mouthful of sweet perfume. "Watch where you spray that Iz."

Izzy giggled. "Keep your mouth closed and you'll survive."

"IZZY! CLARY! GET DOWN HERE!" Alec yelled up the stairs.

Both girls jumped before Clary broke the silence with a wild nervous giggle.

"Remember, just relax, have fun. He must be interested in you because _he_ asked you out."

"Right…okay." Clary nodded, taking a deep breath.

"I'll be waiting up for you to get in so try to be sober by the time I see you. I want those details pronto." Izzy added, before reaching over to squeeze Clary's hand encouragingly.

"Got it."

"CLARY GET YOUR SKINNY ASS DOWN HERE NOW! YOUR DAMN DATE WON'T STOP KNOCKING THE FREAKIN' DOOR!" Jace snapped, clearly annoyed.

"Coming!" Clary sighed.

"Go get 'im girl. You're gonna rock." Isabelle smirked, her eyes glinting mischievously in the shadows of her pretty face.

***At Pandemonium- Clary POV***

Six half pints of cider, four shots of apple sours and two bottles of apple magners later, Sebastian was well oiled and repeatedly slurring about how 'damn fine' I was looking.

On the seventh time of him repeating it I was starting to get slightly annoyed. "Thank you." I said with a tight-lipped smile.

Two clammy hands wrapped round my waist and pressed uncomfortably into the small amount of skin showing at my waist. _Damn Isabelle and her stupid short tops…_

"You really are pretty. I'm glad I know you." He slurred in my ear, his hot breath sending chilling shivers down my spine.

"Uh, yeah Sebastian, it's uh, great." I wriggled backwards, trying to get out of his tightening grip.

He gave me a little shake. "No, you don't. Don't do this." He sounded surprisingly angry, and I paused momentarily, analysing his features.

But by the time I could pick up on any negative emotions he was grinning wildly down at me. "Let's have some shots. Vodka!" he yelled, letting go of me abruptly, so I staggered backwards.

He thumped his hand on the bar. "Vodka!" he shouted gleefully.

I ducked my head as a few sober people turned to stare at me. _Oh God…_

"Uh, Sebastian, why don't we_" I reached out to touch his elbow but he suddenly stumbled round, thrusting a shot glass in my hand.

"Four glasses!" he said proudly. "Go!" he threw his head back, his slightly matted sweaty hair bouncing as he downed his shot. Without taking a breath, he moved onto his next one.

Not seeing any other option but to follow his lead I quickly downed my one, coughing as it burned my throat. I moved onto my next one and chucked it back. Again and again until I eventually swallowed the fourth shot.

My head swam, vision blurring until I could no longer make out a face or a body or even the walls. I felt tears trickle slowly from my eyes, the warm droplets running slowly down my flushed cheeks, tickling gently.

I giggled as one dripped under my chin. I raised a clumsy hand to try and swipe it away but a dizzying wave over took me and knocked me off balance, causing me to fall into the wooden bar, catching my elbow on the corner.

"Clary!" Sebastian laughed. "Let's go…fun, fun, fun!" he jerked me off the high stool roughly so that I landed awkwardly on my high-heeled feet. It stung and I buckled to the side landing harshly on my ankle.

"Don't be rough…'tis mean." I grumbled rather ineligibly as I struggled to break through the haze fogging my eyes, so that I could try and see Sebastian's face.

I let out a squeal when some guy slapped my butt. I jumped backwards, which really wasn't a good idea from the sounds of all the yelling. I kept falling, which I wasn't expecting, until I hit the floor.

I groaned as something came down on top of me.

Ouch, I got elbowed in my boob. Even vodka can't dull _that_ pain.

Where the hell is Sebastian? A little help from my _date_ would be nice right about now…

"Clary!" Oh, there he is. On top of me.

"You landed on my boob!" I complained.

"Suck it up." He surprised me by snarling. "A lot of other stuff is going to be happening soon."

I frowned. That sounded foreboding and just plain mean.

But before I had time to even _think_ about _thinking_ about, well, anything, I was yanked up off the hard sticky floor and being pulled outside.

Ah, fresh air. Wonderful. I gasped a few lungfuls down and down and grinned stupidly when the haziness ebbed slightly. At least now I could make objects out.

I pushed my matted hair off my burning face with both hands, before glancing round with fast blinking eyes.

Dear God, Sebastian looked awful.

His eyes were slightly hollow looking, dark purple half moons lining the skin under them; his face was chalky white, two giant blobs of red the only sign of life on his face. His lips looked dry and he kept smacking them irritatingly together, obviously he was thirsty.

I pushed off the wall and took three staggering lunges towards the pavement. "Well, it was very…" I trailed off as I thought of the word. It wasn't nice- not at all. "It was different_"

I trailed off again as a violent heaving sound drowned out my words.

I glared at Sebastian, annoyed by the interruption but he was bent over, one hand clutching the wall, the other held taut on his knee.

Ohmigod…he was throwing up!

Ew.

I retched as I saw foul watery yellow fluid dribble out of his mouth. I collapsed to the pavement, throwing a hand to my mouth the keep whatever contents was in my stomach_, in my stomach_.

I don't think people would like to see my puke all over the pavement.

Icky. Very icky.

I swallowed thickly as the smell of vomit suffocated the street, making me gag and heave.

I took shallow pants as I shoved my thick hair off of my shoulders, my eyes carefully staring at one stone on the pavement until I was sure I could look at Sebastian without wanting to hurl.

I peaked up through my lashes as loud uneven footsteps lunged towards me. Sebastian's face was enough to give anyone nightmares for a week. He looked truly awful and he was coming straight for me!

I rolled drunkenly along the pavement, cursing as little stones stabbed me through my skinny jeans.

The haziness was creeping back, coating my brain in a thick layer of acid, slowly burning away every functioning thing that was making me move and think and stay alert.

All the shallow panting didn't help, it was making me extremely dizzy…the street was spinning sickeningly fast, the dark grey pavement whizzing round so that it was a dull fuzzy blur.

_I want Jace _I thought desperately as Sebastian's cold hand closed tightly on my booted ankle.

_I want Jace now_!

But how do I get him?

I choked on a gurgled scream as Sebastian dragged me backwards, closer to him. I gagged at the vile scent of alcohol on his breath and clawed my long nails into the sidewalk.

"Let me go! No, no, NO!" I screamed manically as I clumsily kicked out my free foot.

It missed Sebastian by about a half a foot, my aim severely clouded by the alcohol flowing through my body.

I made another assault, lashing my wrist out savagely, aiming to get a nail into his sunken cheek but my arm felt very heavy. It swam painfully slowly through the air, and I knew even through the haze in my brain that it wasn't going to have any effect when it hit his face.

He did grunt as my knuckle dug into his cheekbone, but I was still trapped under him.

In a wild moment of panic, I threw back my head and shrieked. I felt a tear squeeze from my eye and dribble down my cheek, rolling down the line of my jaw until it disappeared down my neck and under the neckline of my top.

"What's going on?"

I inhaled so sharply I choked. "Help," I croaked, the words burning my throat as I forced them out before I had finished choking.

"S'all fine." Sebastian slurred over me. "Me takin' her home. She tripped." He wobbled to his feet before gently helping me up, plucking at my top to right it and straightening out my cardigan.

I stared dubiously at him. "No," I started drunkenly, taking a staggering step towards the guy with black and green spiky hair in front of us. "He_"

A sharp pinch to my arm made me turn and glare. A menacing glow was emanating from Sebastian's eyes.

I gulped, freezing in his grip.

"S'all fine." Sebastian repeated more forcefully.

The green-and-black haired guy frowned, clearly unconvinced but Sebastian had this scary aura engulfing him, promising violence if he didn't get what he wanted.

So the guy backed reluctantly away, and this was when I noticed he had an All Time Low top on.

I opened my mouth to ask him but I remembered Sebastian's mood so I quickly clamped my lips tightly together and took a little step towards him so that we looked more of a normal couple rather than a boy attacking a girl in darkened streets outside a club.

After five minutes of intense breathing and foreboding silence I cleared my throat. "So, I'm going home?" I asked, a hopeful desperation tinting my voice.

He glared at me. Oh dear, maybe I was a little _too_ hopeful.

I was reeled forward, and scooped up by two sweaty arms. I let out a breathless squeak of indignation before I was pulled unbearably close to a clammy chest.

I stared up at Sebastian through ringlets of red frizzy hair as he began walking towards the pavement, his movements uneven because of his insane level of intoxication.

I wriggled slowly, carefully, silently investigating how high my chance of escape was. I was rewarded by arms constricting round my legs and waist as Sebastian grunted warningly at me.

I clutched my purse tightly in my lap, needing something to squeeze, to let my nerves exert their energy onto.

I felt a lump roll gently across my lap and dig lightly into my thighs as I pressed the purse into my legs. With shaking fingers, I tugged open my purse and wrestled out the object.

After staring hard at the object for a moment I let out a little giggle.

Unscrewing the lid of the water, I brought it to my lips and sucked the cool liquid down greedily. The question floating round my brain was, _who the hell put it there?_

But the thought was much too vague for me to think too hard about it. I pulled the bottle away from my lips with a moist _popping_ sound and breathed deeply as the refreshing liquid helped clear the fogginess in my brain.

If only this was some kind of energy drink, then I could think of a way to get out of here…

But with sudden clarity, I had a wild idea.

I shifted slightly so that I was sitting more stiffly in Sebastian's arms but not stiff enough that he would notice. Slowly counting to three in my head, I let out my remaining breath and hurled the rest of the water into his face.

It had the desired effect. He jerked his head backwards, gasping and spluttering. I dug an elbow into his chest and used it to propel me over his cupped hands and down, down, down until I hit the floor.

I landed awkwardly on my knee, the joint making a sharp _clicking_ sound before a sharp stabbing pain encircled the joint, but I focused on keeping my mind on more important things like not succumbing to the haziness again. The impact from the fall had sent my head jolting forwards, making it swim and my vision darken momentarily.

I leant my head on the sidewalk, wanting more than anything to just _rest _but when I heard a barbaric yell and a hand closed around my ankle, I scrambled weakly to my hands and knees and scrambled forward.

My boot came flying off, sending Sebastian reeling backwards about five steps, the momentum knocking him clean off his feet and into the curb. I saw blurrily his head cracking against the concrete.

_This is your chance a voice snarled savagely at me. MOVE! _

I stumbled to my feet, hobbling drunkenly forward on a knee that felt crocked, and one high heel and one bare foot.

I picked up my pace slightly, daring myself to go faster but knowing that if I did, I would loose my already unstable footing and go plummeting to the ground.

I made a lunge at a wall that was heavily graphitised, digging my small fingers into the crocks of the wall, chipping my nail varnish in the process.

I clawed my way up the wall, trying to get a foot into a gap and swing my self over but I was suddenly jerked backwards and slammed into the ground, the air rushing out of me in hard painful gasps.

I stared wildly up at the sky, my chest convulsing as I tried to force air back down my bruised throat.

A head swam into my vision, dark malicious eyes glinting down at me, thirsting for something that my brain just wouldn't comprehend. I prepared myself for impact as my eyes traced the trickle of blood running from his eyebrow to his jaw, from where he hit his head on the curb.

"You're mine bitch." He spat at me, before slipping a hand under my knee, creeping up my thigh until he reached the waistband of my jeans. He shoved a hand down the side of my thigh, and I squirmed as I felt his nails press roughly into my skin.

I let out a loud piercing scream and brought my hands up to shove him.

Why weren't people coming? I mean, of course people in the club wouldn't hear what was happening up the street over the sound of the music but the people in the houses in the street running parallel to the club should do.

_So why weren't they helping? _

And then, as Sebastian pressed his chapped lips to my neck, I realised that people living near this club must be used to this sort of thing happening on their doorstep. They didn't help because they were used to this happening so often.

I let out a little whimper as Sebastian toyed with the edge of my top before flipping it up so that it showed my stomach. He dragged his lips roughly over mine, forcing his tongue into my mouth. I gagged on the stale taste of puke in his mouth and bit down hard on his lip.

Her reared back, staring at me with a look of pure disbelief. I rolled frantically form side to side as he brought a hand to his lip and wiped it.

"Get off me!" I yelled, jabbing a fist into his stomach, but it was so weak it barely sent him a centimetre back.

He gripped me by the shoulders, and whacked my head back into the solid concrete a few times. I felt bile rise in my throat as I felt the blood slowly dribble from the wound, down my neck and under the neckline of my shirt.

Sebastian sat panting above me, as I lay dazedly on the floor.

"You're coming with me." Sebastian snarled, rolling off of my hips and crouching on his haunches.

He pulled me up into a sitting position and as he went to stand I lashed out with my hands, nails raking his cheek.

Three ragged cuts instantly appeared on his face, and blood welled up in the grooves.

I pushed myself to my feet and charged blindly away from Sebastian.

Just as I thought I was actually putting some distance between us, a hard jolt and a burning pulsing stabbed me in my shoulder.

I stumbled but remained sure-footed. I peaked over my shoulder and whimpered pathetically as I saw a deep cut rapidly overflowing with dark red glistening blood. On the floor, lying haphazardly about 1ft away from me, my discarded boot lay with a drop of ruby red blood on the tip of the heel.

With a sickening lurch, I realised that he was throwing things at me.

_How was I supposed to escape that? _

I clutched my purse tightly under my arm and staggered on, shaking my head to get my hair of my face.

I saw a flash of white streak my vision, and a few sparks of red interrupt my sigh and then I was falling to the floor.

I landed in an ungraceful heap, far from the place I wanted to be at but it will have to do. I had no energy left to move any more.

Keeping my body shielded behind a pile of black vile smelling rubbish bags, I took two sharp breaths to try and calm myself. The blinding agony in my head was making it hard to keep my eyes open.

I let the silence wash over me for a moment, not daring to think that Sebastian had left. Left me alone.

Over the pounding blood whooshing through my ears, I peaked cautiously over the top of the bags, and felt my jaw drop as I saw the road was deserted.

Relief washed through me, strong and welcome, as I laughed hysterically at the prospect of what was happening. I was free- Sebastian had gone.

Free.

Free.

Free…

I stood up from the behind the bags, not caring that the ground was sloping up and down beneath my feet. I let my eyes flick closed as I spun happily in circles, arms outstretched, and lips grinning.

I heard a few people exit the club, laughing and joking as they all stumbled off down the street, no doubt, going home.

Like me.

I was going to go home.

I slowed my spinning, arms twirling more slowly as I concentrated on steadying my feet.

My fingers brushed the soft fabric of a cotton t-shirt.

I drew my arms into my sides and planted both feet firmly on the ground.

Heavy breathing was panting just behind my ear.

I opened my eyes, reaching into my purse with blood-covered nails to withdraw my phone when I felt that chilling feeling of being watched.

I paused a moment, telling myself I was being ridiculous. After all, who would be watching me? The drunk, injured, demented girl rifling innocently through her purse?

But the daunting feeling didn't go away, and slowly, ever so slowly, I raised my eyes up a little to look at the stretch of road in front of me.

A shadow was less than half a ft behind me, their posture menacing and aggressive. The shadow slowly, almost tauntingly, raised their hands to level at my neck. Swallowing thickly, I clenched my fists and spun round.

Sebastian was looming over me, eyes wild and alien-like, beyond all reason of compromising.

I swallowed a scream and fell to the floor, tucking my head into my arms that I had crossed over my chest, resting them tensely on my knees.

He followed after me, launching himself at the floor.

With shuddering arms I shot out a hand and dug around frantically in the mess of black bags until my fingers closed round a solid metal rod.

I swung it upwards, meeting Sebastian's face with the metal. Blood squirted out of his split lip as the rod hit the one side of his face, causing the cut to split open and blood to explode out the side. His nose crushed under the rod, snapping grotesquely to one side. He howled and collapsed backwards, his body convulsing on the ground.

Without wasting another moment, I crawled backwards on my butt using my feet to propel me, causing my injured knee to buckle under the pressure, until my hand could reach inside my open purse. I clasped my phone to my chest like a lifeline, barely having time to unlock it and hit the speed dial before the sobs started racking through my body.

My chest heaved after each outburst of tears, causing my teeth to chatter and my shoulders to jerk.

I half pushed, half dragged myself away from the convulsing body in front of me, crawling down the opening of a dark alleyway.

I nestled myself in between two rusty metal dumpsters, the cold emanating from the wall and ground seeping into my bones through the bloody rips in my clothes.

Letting my aching body crumple back into the wall, I barely had enough time to take a breath before I fell into a bottomless pit of grabbing, searching hands reaching for me in the never ending darkness.

Review please :) And thank you for subscribing and the review from Brittm123 Here's the next chapter, nice and early :) Keep them reviews coming! 


	3. Passion

**Uh, warnings…heavy making out but not a lime.**

**By the way, I want everyone to give a clap to Insomnia-calling for checking over my last chapter before I put it up…she isn't really a mortal instruments fan*shakes head disbelievingly* but she still did it :)* claps hands and grins* Oh, and did the chapter freak anyone else out because it freaked insomnia-calling out…oops.**

**And when I say 'implied rape' in the summary I don't actually mean someone is raped, I mean there is a scene in this chapter when rape is mentioned and is implied but all implications are untrue and corrected :)**

**Clary POV.**

I felt my eyes roll back into my head a little as I tried to sit up. A sharp pain stabbed at my side, shoulder and ankle. Groaning, I dug my nails into the soft mattress and pushed myself into a sitting position. I squeezed my eyes tighter together as a bright light bombarded my eyes, momentarily dazzling me.

Ouch. I really couldn't tell which part of me was hurting most right now.

I felt my head swim nauseatingly as I struggled to hold my body upright.

"Careful. You took a nasty hit to your head."

Ignoring the advice, I swung my head round and stared at Izzy. She looked a mess. Her dark glistening hair was slicked back into an untidy bun and she had on a pair of old tattered pyjama bottoms and a sleeveless plain black top. Her face was pale and her eyes were hollow looking, dried out, as if she'd been awake for hours on end.

"How did I get here?" I asked, my voice hoarse and dry. I swallowed thickly to try and moisten it up when Izzy thrust a large glass of water under my nose.

I leaned my head forward and sucked greedily from the glass, the cool liquid slid down my throat, chilling my chest but I liked it. It made me feel awake and alert.

"This is all my fault." Izzy said suddenly, taking the glass and placing it with an over dramatic amount of accuracy on the bedside table.

I frowned. "What do you mean?" I rubbed carefully at my sore shoulder. "How did I get here? I was out with Sebastian and then_" I stopped abruptly, my eyes widening.

I clutched at Izzy's hand. "I was out with Sebastian and then…then_" I choked slightly, feeling an overbearing wave of tears threatening to overflow. I sniffed. "Izzy what happened? What happened last night?"

Izzy cringed, looking away from me. "The date didn't…well it didn't exactly go to plan. Sebastian tried to…to," she took a deep shuddering breath before turning to face me. "He tried to_"

"Rape me." I whispered through unmoving lips.

There was a moment of awkward silence while I tried to absorb the fact that was _right in front of my nose_ and Izzy just didn't seem to know what to say.

"Its my fault. I shouldn't have dressed you up so much. I should've toned it down for your date with Sebastian. I knew about his reputation with girls, but I just wanted you to have a nice date. Sort of help you forget about your trashy one with Jonathan last week." Isabelle's voice was getting hysterical, the words getting shakier and shakier until they were hardly understandable.

I squeezed her hand comfortingly and smiled, fighting back the urge to cry. "Iz stop being ridiculous. It _so_ isn't your fault. How could possibly know that Sebastian was this much of an asshole?"

She let out a wild little hiccup/laugh. "I should've known, you're best friend. I have a duty to pro_" she began earnestly.

"The important thing is that I'm fine now," I said firmly.

She stared disbelievingly at me, her tired eyes wide and unwavering. "You have a gash in the back of your head, a bruised shoulder, a sprained ankle and two broken ribs. You most certainly aren't fine."

I rolled my eyes at her, determined not to dwell on the negative. "But I'm alive so I'd say that overweighs everything else."

"Barely alive." She amended darkly.

Oh my god, who knew Isabelle could be so freakin' pessimistic? So not the time for negativity!

Nodding my head I chirped, "Your right. I have a killer hangover. You got some pills I can pop?"

For a moment she stared at me, her eyes frustrated, and I stared back, face carefully void of any negative emotions.

Finally, she smiled and I breathed a sigh of relief. "Your not meant to have any pills for at least an hour, in case you have a concussion or something. We can't risk you falling back asleep. Sorry babe."

I waved away her apology. "Oh well, I guess I can deal with a hangover, after all, I guess I've dealt with worse." I snorted. "Can you believe this? Sebastian actually thought he was going to get into my pants on our first date?"

Isabelle tutted. "What an idiot. See, its now obvious you guys aren't meant to be. If he actually knew anything besides your name he could've saved himself all this embarrassment."

I giggled; scrunching my eyes closed briefly when the noise made my headache pound. Seriously, I felt like I had a brass band trampling round in my head. Not nice. At all. "Damn straight."

"You're awake."

My eyes flew towards the door, the motion so quick it caused a sharp stab of pain to hit me behind my eyes. Damn hangovers. This is why I should drink water and not alcohol.

Jace was standing stiffly in the doorway, his muscles tensed, his golden eyes flashing.

I swallowed. "Yes." I scratched my hand, feeling self-conscious with his intense gaze trained to my face.

Izzy patted my blanket sympathetically. "Don't run your mouth. He's pissed." She whispered to me, before rising stiffly from her chair beside my bed. She kissed my forehead fondly before turning and walking out the room.

Jace didn't pay her any attention as she brushed past him to get through the doorway.

This was bad.

I swallowed again and felt pink tinge my cheeks because I'm sure he could here it from across the room.

"You going to say something?" I asked finally, fiddling with the corner of my blanket.

"I'm actually waiting." He shot back sourly.

I glanced up at him, surprised. "Waiting for what?"

He slammed his hand against the doorframe and I stared transfixed as his bicep convulsed beneath the sleeve of his plain black t-shirt. "Do not play dumb with me right now." He growled.

I sighed, feeling defeated. "I don't want to talk about it." I muttered.

Footsteps padded softly across the room and then Jace was beside me, sitting in the chair, arms folded, glaring like he wanted to burn a hole through me. "You don't have a choice."

I balled my hands into fists, pressing them into the mattress. "Who the hell do you think you are? Telling me what to do like that. Get a grip Jace."

"You get a grip. You're the one that went out with _Sebastian Verlac_." He snapped. "Honestly Clary, do you have sense?"

Anger weld up inside my chest, a hot ball of anger. "Its not like I wanted last night to happen." I retorted.

"Tell me what happened." He commanded, leaning back in the chair.

I whipped my head up to look at him. Was he serious? "You can't be serious Jace." I said, an unsure catch to my tone.

Jace noticed it, and he played on it. "Dead serious. I don't see your problem really. We all know something happened so why don't you just save all the drama and spit it out already?"

For the first time since I woke up and realised what had almost happened I wanted to cry. I bit back the tears, not wanting Jace to see me blubbering. I didn't want to show weakness in front of this cold-hearted boy. "You don't have to be an asshole about this."

Jace shrugged. "You don't have to be an evasive bitch about it, so cut the shit and spill."

"You have no idea what it was like Jace." I swallowed thickly, turning my head to face the opposite wall. "I didn't know what to do. I didn't really want to think about what was going to happen, but I didn't have much choice did I? That sick creep wasn't going to show mercy. I didn't mean to get into a situation where I was so drunk that I barely registered what was going on until it was too late. I didn't mean to even go on the date with him." I laughed darkly. "But I did, and I got drunk, and then he…he tried…_"

"To get a feel." Jace finished bluntly.

I cringed at the coldness in his voice.

"Looks like you an me aren't the only ones that need to get a grip. Sebastian seemed to feel the need to get one too. On you."

I felt like I had been slapped in the face. How could he make innuendos about such a thing? My head jerked to look at him, and I felt tears leak out my eyes, dripping quickly down my chin. The light yet distinctive tinge of saltiness collected at the corners of my mouth. "You…jerk." I whispered, turning my head quickly away from his gaze. I couldn't bear to feel him looking at me anymore. I didn't want him to see me in such an ugly vulnerable state. "Do _not_ talk to me like I'm some kind of common slut. I'm not a slut. I'm not a slut. I'm not a SLUT!" I screamed the last word, closing my eyes tightly, causing fresh tears to cascade down my cheeks. My face was slowly getting soaked but I didn't care. I wasn't a slut.

I brought my hands up, ignoring the tightening pain in my side, and buried my face in my hands.

Sobs racked through my chest, shaking my whole upper body. My shoulder throbbed and my broken ribs pulsed painfully but I couldn't get a handle on myself.

"He tried to…oh god he tried to…" I couldn't finish. I couldn't speak the unspeakable. "I tried to fight, I did but he was so…out of control. And nobody would help. NOBODY WOULD HELP!" I screamed, gasping and choking and spluttering profanities.

Suddenly, the bed shifted and the blankets were tugged. Two strong arms wrapped round my shaking form and I was pulled to a strong chest. I slit my fingers and opened my eyes squinting through the blurriness till is saw two honey orbs staring wildly at me. "Clary, its okay now. Stop, just stop okay."

I continued to cry, gulping down air and swiping at my runny nose. "I c-c-ca-aa-n't!"

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Just calm down. Breathe for me." He tipped my head sideways and tucked it under his chin. I felt his lips brush my hair as he mumbled sweet nothings to me, saying anything to get me to calm down.

Finally, I managed to reduce my hysteria to this small sucking sound that seemed to be coming from the back of my throat.

"Clary?" Jace asked hesitantly.

I kept silent, not trusting myself to speak without going off on another breakdown.

I felt his arms constrict tenderly around me. "Clary_" he rubbed his hand up and down my one arm, caressing from the shoulder to the elbow.

"Keep your hands where I can see them." I instructed, tensing in Jace's arms.

"_What?" _

"Actually, let me hold them. I don't…they can't…no wondering…don't touch me…" I was mumbling bits of sentences while I grabbed both of Jace's hands in my own.

"Look at me." He demanded quietly.

I shook my head. "No, please."

"Clary, look at me." He pulled one of his hands free from my grip, and I as I frantically tied to snatch it back he moved his other hand and captured both of mine in his one.

My heartbeat picked up as dreadful pristine flashes of the previous nights events danced along my vision.

My cheek burned where Jace's hand cupped it, pulling me out of memories and round to face him. His dazzling eyes were staring shocked at me. "Clary, I wouldn't…I can't believe you think I'd hurt you like that."

I did a little half shrug with my good soldier. "Guys will be guys." I said simply.

His eyes flashed, anger burning disgustedly from them. "Don't compare me to _him_." He growled.

I stared evenly back at him. "Don't compare me to a slut."

He raised an eyebrow before sighing and dropping it. "I didn't mean it." He breathed, and I could tell he meant it for his voice burned with regret.

I nodded. "Jace…"

He cocked his head the side, patiently waiting. "Stay with me?" I asked timidly.

He studied me for a long moment, long enough that I began to think he was going to just shake his head at me and leave the room silently but then he nodded carefully. "You sure?"

I took a deep calming breath. "You won't hurt me." I said with conviction.

"Never."

And I believed him.

***Time skip, an hour, still in Clary's bedroom***

I was lying quietly in Jace's arms, listening to his slow and steady breaths. I think that's what's keeping me calm, the rhythm of his chest moving up and down.

I think he might've dropped off to sleep about half hour ago and I'd been pondering ever since how much I actually cared for Jace. With a deep sigh I realised that I really did like him.

I liked him a lot.

And I was really wishing that I had gone on a date with Jace rather than Sebastian. At least Jace wasn't an asshole. A man whore maybe, but not an asshole.

"You would've showed me a good time Jace." I sighed softly, breathing in the sharp yet sweet scent of lemons and sunshine, which was Jace's smell.

"That's what's all the girls say after spending an hour in my arms." Jace answered playfully.

I froze.

Oh.

My.

God.

"Jace?" I asked timidly.

"Clary." He replied calmly, and I could hear the lilt in his voice that implied that he was smirking.

I'm reconsidering him being an asshole…

"You're supposed to be asleep." I groaned.

He chuckled, a low and rich. "And why is that?"

Just say it Clary. "Because then you can't hear me mumbling about how much I think I like you."

There was a pause in which my chest tightened, preparing for the rejection that I was sure to follow but Jace pulled away from me and twisted so that he could hover over me. He grinned down at me and my heart leapt.

"How interesting, because I was pondering on how much I like you too."

"Oh." I breathed.

A troubled expression clouded his face and I reached up a finger to trace the lines appearing in his forehead. "What's wrong?"

He caught my finger in his mouth when I trailed it down his temple and towards his chin. "Are you ready for another…date?"

I paused, realising that maybe I wasn't as good an actor as what I thought. Of course I was thinking the exact same thing as Jace, I just hoped he wouldn't have been thinking about it. I didn't want him thinking I was damaged goods or anything. Biting my lip, I swallowed and whispered, "Help me forget."

"As you wish." He smoothed my hair back from my face and rose easily from the bed. "I'll see you here at, lets say six?"

I frowned. "Why six?"

His jaw hardened. "I have unfinished business."

He left the room before I could ask what the business was.

***Time skip- six o'clock***

I was watching the clock on the bedside table beside like a vulture eyeing up its prey. My stomach was doing tiny flip-flops at the thought of me actually having a date with Jace. I was tremendously excited for the last five minutes to fly by and six o'clock to come but I also couldn't deny the fact that I was also incredibly nervous.

What if I had a breakdown in the middle of a make-out session or something?

I dragged my mind to safer things to think about like how good it felt to be overcoming the ordeal of the previous night. I wasn't stupid, I knew that the whole Sebastian thing was going to take time to get over, but I just think that if I have Jace there with me, it'll be a lot shorter process.

The bedroom door was pushed open and I held my breath, waiting for Jace to emerge. To my dismay it was Isabelle that peeped round the door. I _humphed_.

"Chill out," she chided. "I just came in to check that you were okay. No pain? Standing up showering with your, uh, injuries probably took a lot out of you."

I smiled at my best friend. It was touching to see that she cared so much. "I'm okay. Really. Not even tired."

She nodded. "Your hair looks great. I'm glad we decided to put it up and let it just curl naturally. And I like the outfit. Jeans and sleeveless top, very casual."

My eager eyes flicked to the clock and I couldn't help but smile.

It was six o'clock.

"Goodnight Clary. Hey Jace, go easy on her, she still has injuries." Izzy warned before strutting out the room.

Jace rolled his eyes and walked into the room, kicking the door shut behind him. He smiled when he caught sight of me, his lips curving cutely at the corners. "Hey."

"Hi." I waved daintily suddenly shy.

He reached the bed (which I had made Isabelle change for good measure) and ducked his head, planting a chaste kiss on my forehead. It was then that I noticed the knuckles on his right hand were slightly swollen and bloody.

"What happened?" I asked, surprise colouring my voice. I reached carefully for his hand.

He tensed momentarily, before sighing and perching on the edge if the chair beside my bed. He closed his eyes tightly, as if he was fighting a headache, and then opened them again.

"Jace." I said, reproachfully now.

His eyes darkened, the gold turning from honey to the colour of simmering syrup: dark and hot.

I jerked back slightly, startled by his sudden anger, and then instantly felt bad because his eyes clouded over, masking hurt.

"I'm sor_" I began, tightening my hold on his hand when he suddenly started talking, quiet and low.

I leaned forward to catch his words.

"I went looking for him."

My blood ran cold. _"What?"_ I squeaked.

His hand clenched into a fist, the veins popping out. I looked down at his hand in mine, carefully; I traced the veins with the pad of my thumb. "You shouldn't have done that."

"I found him at pandemonium," he continued, his gaze fixed on my thumb gently tracing his hand. "He stank of weed. I followed him into the toilets and that's when I got him."

I gulped loudly, my jaw clenching at the malice in his voice. "What did you do to him?"

"I broke his noise." He sat back in the chair, pulling his hand out of my grip but I refused to let go.

His eyes watched my face, waiting for my reaction. His mouth was set in a firm line, the muscles in his jaw jumped.

I tried to find my voice. I wanted to tell him that it was okay. I wanted to tell him that I was glad. I _needed_ him to hold me. Slowly, I brought his hand to my lips and kissed it. "Thank you." I whispered.

His hand twisted in my own, his fingers gently gripping my chin. "He won't be bothering you again."

I smiled, wriggling over in the bed so that he could climb in beside me. I snuggled into his chest, blissfully content.

We sat in a peaceful silence for a moment while he stroked my hair soothingly and I battled inwardly about whether I was ready for another round of physical contact with a guy. Breathing deeply, I slid my hand up his chest, round his neck until I wound it into his fine curls. Titling my head back, I pulled his head down towards mine and closed my eyes.

It was a soft innocent kiss, just a brushing of lips really, but it was enough. I pressed myself closer to him and he cupped his hands on my hips, slowly rubbing circles into the bare skin there. My skin felt like it was on fire; his touch igniting a delicious warm feeling that raised the hair along my arms and had my stomach doing frantic little somersaults. I pushed my self up off the bed and swung my leg over Jace's hips, careful not to hit my injured ankle on the bedside table.

That would hurt. A lot.

I felt Jace moan more than I heard it, as he curled a hand into my curls and crushed my face closer to his. I loosened my hold on his neck to drape my arms round his broad shoulders. His fingers danced expertly up and under my top, dragging softly along my stomach until they brushed just under the hem of my bra.

I jerked back, placing both hands on Jace's chest to shove my self off of him. I landed back in my original spot, gasping and fighting tears.

"Clary?" he asked worriedly. I was vaguely aware that he was propping himself up on an elbow to look at me but I was lost in another time, another memory.

_Last night. _

I clamped my lips tightly together to avoid the sobs from breaking loose.

_Jace isn't like Seb, Jace isn't like Seb, Jace isn't like Seb!_

Lips brushed softly at my temple. "I'm sorry, I didn't think."

I swallowed thickly, shaking my head. "Its okay," I croaked. "I just remembered…" I trailed off, shaking my head again.

Fingers stroked my arm tenderly. "I know. I know."

"Why did this have to happen Jace? He's ruined everything!" I looked up at Jace, eyes wide and sad, voice shaking with suppressed tears.

Jace smiled. "No he hasn't. You're going to get through this Clary. _We're_ going to get through this. But we'll do it in your time."

God, how could I not notice how much I liked him before?

Keeping eye contact with him, I griped his shirt tightly between my fingers and tugged it. "Help me get over it Jace. I don't want to remember. Give me something else to remember."

He studied me carefully, searching for any sign of me changing my mind, before shifting his weight to hover over me. I could feel the heat radiating from his body even though there was a thing boundary of air between us.

Leaning his head down deliberately slowly, Jace pecked his lips along my jaw. My hands stayed clenched at my sides, waiting for the contact of his body pressing against mine. But it didn't come.

As Jace planted chaste kisses from my ear to the tip of my chin, I realised that he was purposefully keeping the small boundary of air between us.

I crept my fingers downwards, till they were level with my hips and then I wrapped them round his waist, playing with the fabric of his t-shirt, teasingly pulling it up and then brushing the tips of my nails along the sensitive skin just above the band of his jeans.

He shivered, his hot breath blowing out against the underside of my jaw. "Clary." He whispered, tracing his tongue from the tip of my jaw to my ear lobe. He bit it softly, dragging it gently with his teeth.

I smirked, enjoying the fact that I, Clary Fray, could evoke such reactions from Jace, the biggest man whore ever.

I twisted my head till my lips found his and it was like fire and gasoline mixing: explosions went off in my stomach. I wriggled, freeing my one leg so I could hook it over his own and then I looped my thumbs through the belt loops on his jeans and pulled him against me. I gasped when his hard stomach pressed against mine. The hair on my arms raised and my eyes rolled back in my head a little. Jace moaned and pressed a hot, open-mouthed kiss on the sensitive spot just behind my ear, where the jaw meets the ear lobe.

My hands danced their way up under his top, bunching it up until it reached his head. In one fluid movement, Jace had the top off and was back to kissing me. His teeth nipped playfully at my bottom lip and I felt my toes curl with desire.

White burning hot desire.

I was feeling slightly light headed from all the kissing and was only faintly aware of Jace rolling onto his back and pulling me with him. He held me carefully, allowing me time to readjust and get comfortable. My shoulder ached slightly and my ribs felt like they were trying to poke a hole through my skin but I didn't care.

Jace angled my chin up so he could kiss my neck, and I shivered as his breath met my flushed skin. "Why didn't I think of asking you out before?" he whispered, pecking teasingly at my collarbone.

My breathing was embarrassingly loud. "Beats me," I panted.

I felt him smirk against my neck before pulling back and licking his lips, his golden eyes bright, and his honey blonde curls mused, looking comically like sex hair.

I huffed, trying to at least control my breathing so that I didn't sound completely undignified.

His long fingers plucked tantalizingly at the edge of my top.

"Off." I gasped, incoherently.

He smirked and swiftly pulled it up, over my head. He ran his hands down my stomach, stopping at my belly button. "You sure?" he asked.

I nodded, leaning in to press my lips to the edge of his jaw.

He wrapped one arm round my waist, and used the other to cup my face, meeting my searching lips with a sweet open-mouthed kiss. The tip of his tongue slid smoothly along my bottom lip and I nipped it playfully.

It tongue pressed against mine and I shivered, moving my hands into his hair, clutching gently at the curls.

Ending with a soft brushing off lips, he pulled away and smiled, pushing my wild hair off my forehead.

I whined. "No."

He chuckled and my heart pounded unevenly at the sound. "Clary, you need to rest for a moment." He brushed his fingers meaningfully over my two swollen ribs.

I huffed and reluctantly rolled off of him.

He followed me, rolling quickly until he could press his back against mine, circling me in his arms.

I rubbed my hands up and down over his biceps.

"You feeling okay?" Jace murmured into my ear.

I thought about that for a moment.

Was I?

Of course I was. I'd never felt more loved than now.

Turning in his arms, I smiled sweetly up at him. "Never better."

He rested his head atop mine, squeezing me lovingly.

**Finished! I was up till two o'clock yesterday starting this chapter and it was only when I really needed to pee I actually stopped typing. I scared myself when I was cleaning my teeth though, my eyes were all bloodshot and zombie looking.**

**TIP: if you stay up later than midnight reading on a regular basis DO NOT look at yourself in a mirror until you've got some sleep, it does nothing for your self-esteem!**

**Reviews anyone? That was my first major kissing scene.**


End file.
